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How Authors Can Engage with Readers and Reviewers on Goodreads

Posted past Cynthia on April 9, 2018
Goodreads is the globe'southward largest site for readers and book recommendations, and an attractive spot for authors to promote their books to readers to become reviews. Authors sometimes wonder how to effectively reach and engage with reviewers on Goodreads, particularly when they tin can see how much Goodreads reviews tin touch on the success of a book.

There are two different approaches for authors when it comes to promoting books on Goodreads that authors should leverage together. There's the "pure marketing" approach, for which Goodreads provides suite of ad products for authors to use to build awareness around their books. The other approach involves investing in building long term relationships with readers that can pay off over fourth dimension.

If you lot accept the time and are willing to invest information technology, here are some ways to engage with reviewers on Goodreads:

Share your passion for books. The number one activeness readers want to see from authors on Goodreads is the books they read and recommend. People become to Goodreads to talk about books, and authors who embrace this unlock the ability to effectively integrate Goodreads into their overall online presence.

Successful authors similar Celeste Ng and Roxane Gay spent years curating their shelves on Goodreads while concurrently writing their books. The authors accept more than 500 books marked equally 'read' and Ng even created custom shelves to give a better sense of what she'south reading.

Adding a few books to your WTR shelf in one case a calendar week or updating the status of the volume you just finished is all it takes to stay engaged with the Goodreads community. You might choose to have a more strategic approach: review books that are in the aforementioned genre equally the book you have written, create shelves of books y'all used for inspiration, or mark books that y'all loved in high schoolhouse.

Build genuine relationships. When browsing the reviews of the books you honey, you lot'll find readers who share your preferences. It might be tempting to shoot them a quick message to introduce yourself and your volume, but in that location'due south the risk that the message might be perceived equally spam. Instead, follow the reviewer and see what books you both enjoyed, see their reviews and updates in your newsfeed, and then appoint with them in the comment section of those reviews and updates. Appoint with the reviewer over a shared passion for reading. Remember: relationships take time to cultivate so don't give up if you lot don't run across firsthand results.

Know when to mention your book. There are many areas where authors tin talk about their own book, and guess what? Your volume page is one of them. Reviewing your own book is allowed as long as information technology's clear that the work you're reviewing is your own. Approach the review space of your own book like y'all would writing a foreword, adding additional insights that didn't make it into the blurb (meet an example here) and sharing occasional updates.

While you're on the book folio, avoid responding to reviews about your ain book. Fifty-fifty if y'all like a particularly positive review of your own volume, resist the urge to hit 'similar' on Goodreads. Instead, follow the reviewer to see what else the person might be reading (hey - if they liked your book, yous already know they have neat taste!) and start engaging with them nigh books you both enjoyed.

Let reviewers contact you. Inquire the Writer allows authors to take questions from readers anywhere in the earth, at any time. The questions aren't public until the author chooses to answer them, and it's perfectly fine to skip questions. Check your Author Dashboard for new questions regularly and tell readers to inquire yous questions using Ask the Author by sharing the link to your Goodreads contour on your website, newsletter, blog, or social media account.

Y'all tin can talk about your book through Ask the Writer – in fact, we encourage it by asking "Where did you lot go your idea for your most recent book?" – but you lot can use it in many other creative ways every bit well: share some original writing or personal insights on yourself. Take a friend inquire you a question that y'all can respond to, or even ask yourself a question!

Readers might occasionally send yous a message telling you how much they loved your book, and if y'all experience comfortable engaging with readers that mode, go for it. If they request for a free copy of your book, feel free to send them a re-create, but don't experience obligated to accommodate that if your upkeep doesn't allow for it. A friendly decline "I'm out of review copies at the moment, but you lot can follow me for updates on when I become more" can work.

When authors take this long-term approach and invest in edifice a community on Goodreads, they observe their time spent on Goodreads becomes much richer.

How do you lot engage with readers? Tell us in the comments below!

Next: The Business concern of Existence a Writer: Turning Attention Into Sales

You lot might also like: Five Things Writers Need to Know Before Publishing Their First Book

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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1234-how-authors-can-engage-with-readers-and-reviewers-on-goodreads